Monday, January 28, 2008

Menu Plan Monday - Inspiration from other Menu Planners

This week I am trying a couple of new recipes that I found from checking out other folk's meal plans at I'm an Organizing Junkie. Each week Laura hosts Menu Plan Monday and people put a link to their meal plan on her website.

Last week 242 people shared their meal plans. Lots of the contributors are mums, so the recipes are very family friendly and looking at what others are cooking up provides great inspiration for what I might like to cook.

I have included a recipe of my own below, that I actually made last week - Mexibake. I had a number of people asked about this one.

Instructions:(1). Preheat oven to a moderate heat (approx 180)(2). I say approx 1.5 cups of rice, because I use a rice cooker, of which i use 4 of their measuring cups of rice for this recipe. Once I have added the water to the rice, I add the cayenne pepper and mix gently, so the rice is slightly spiced.(3). Heat oil in large frying pan. Once at a medium heat fry onion for a few minutes until soft.(4). Add meat to the pan and brown meat, ensuring that it is completely broken up.(5). Once meat is cooked, stir in capsicums and carrot. Cook for few minutes until temperature has reached medium again.(6). Add tomatoes and stir well.(7). Add pasta sauce and stir well.(8). Add taco seasoning and mix well.(9). Let simmer for about 15 minutes.(10). In a lasagna dish, spread rice on the bottom of the dish, until is a just under halfway. Don't press the rice firmly in, as it will then stick to the bottom.(11). Spread the meat mixture on top of the rice.(12). Spread sour cream on top of meat mixture. I have found it easier to spread the sour cream, if I place it in a bowl and stir it up with a fork.(13). Sprinkle cheese over sour cream.(14). Cover with aluminium foil and bake int he oven for 45 minutes.(15). About 5- 10 minutes before cooking time ends, take foil off and allow the cheese to go golden on top.

Easy Banana CakeI love this recipe because it is one of those that you just throw all the ingredients into a bowl and mix. It also makes a very large cake, which still stays moist a number of days after its cooked.

Instructions:(1). Preheat oven to a moderate temp. (about 170 or so)(2). throw all the ingredients into a bowl and mix with electric beater for 4- 5 minutes. Ensure the mixture is well combined.(3). Bake it the oven for 1 - 1.25 hours or until a skewer comes out clean.(4) Let the cake sit in the tin for 5- 10 minutes before cooling on a rack.

Have a great week and for those of you with children heading back to school, I hope you have a smooth transition into the school year.

OK, I hate to be so American, but what is a poppadom? and are those other things green and red peppers? either way, nice menu. Good job on raising 4. We have 5, and you almost have to have a plan for a big family, eh?

Thanx for stopping by my blog. Are you able to change your comments so users can use a nickname? I have a blogger acct but recently switched to wordpress and would rather just use that account instead of the old one.